Man Candy Mondays: Maksim Chmerkovskiy

Jamie Beckman is the lead blogger for the Sexcerpts blog on SheKnows.com. She has written about relationships, health and lifestyle trends for Redbook, USA TODAY, Men's Journal, Men's Health, Best Life and First for Women magazines, as w...

We want to dirty dance with this stud

Dancing with the Stars is 1,000 percent sexier thanks to Maksim Chmerkovskiy. The Ukraine-born dancer has a reputation for being a bit of a hothead, but with sexy dance moves like this, we don't mind an occasional tantrum!

Why we love him

Come performance time, we live for that bare chest and those ripped abs on DWTS! This is one bad boy we definitely want to cha-cha with, if you know what we mean.

He plays the bad boy role well

Is Maks really a feud-starting hothead? (Derek Hough and Aaron Carter are two people he's fought with.) Probably not — but he's sure fooled us! Even though it sometimes looks as though he's about to get booted from Dancing with the Stars, that's probably not the case. This month, he and his most recent partner, soccer player Hope Solo, were eliminated. And throughout the season, Maks has had some harsh words for the judges, including his famous quote, "This is my show."

The Huffington Post talked to a show insider who dished about Maksim: "[Maks] has a contract with the show and is one of its most talked-about dancers. His bad-boy ways are all part of his image that makes him so exciting to watch on and off the dance floor. He really is a pussycat in real life. Don't be fooled for one second — like the audience, the producers of the show love him. Only a fool would get fired from one of the biggest hits on television."

He created his own dance charity

Chmerkovskiy, who began dancing at age four, helped found the non-profit educational organization Dance Team USA, which trains future Dance Sport ballroom dancing competitors.

Is it difficult for dudes to learn to dance? Gotham magazine asked Maks which steps are easiest for guys to learn. "Forget dancing, per se," he says.... "How comfortable are you walking up to a girl, taking her hand and pulling her close?"

Oooh, we wouldn't shy away from Maks, that's for sure!

He's danced with some of Hollywood's hottest ladies

Maksim joined Dancing with the Stars on its second season, and from then on he's cut a rug with beautiful women including Tia Carrere, Brandy and Erin Andrews.

But not so fast! Maks is pretty sexy all on his own, and People magazine agrees: Although Bradley Cooper took top honors as this year's Sexiest Man Alive, the mag named Maksim the hottest 31-year-old in its "Sexy at Every Age" feature. We like!

Maksim Chmerkovskiy's personal life:

Maks famously got engaged to fellow Dancing with the Stars performer Karina Smirnoff on New Year's Eve 2009, but they broke off their engagement nine months later. And now? He recently told People magazine, "I'm ready for marriage." In that case, Maks, so are we!